JP5262263B2 - Lighting control system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an illumination control system in which lighting order can be automatically allocated, by taking into consideration position relations of each equipment, and further, that can be realized relatively at a lower cost than the conventional types. <P>SOLUTION: Each equipment A-D carries out mutual communication by wireless, after the installation of each equipment A-D, and measures at least one of the signal level and communication response time between each. Then, an order-setting part 22 is installed in an equipment A, which is a master unit, and this order setting part 22 collects the measured data; and based on the collected measured data, the order of distance between each equipment A-D is established. Then, each equipment A-D carries out lighting control, according to the order established. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an illumination control system that controls a plurality of devices having a light source for illumination to operate in cooperation with each other.

  Generally, in stores or halls where people gather, a plurality of lighting devices having light sources such as lamps are arranged, and the light sources of each device are turned on in a certain order, and the emission color is changed at that time. There is a demand to enhance the lighting effect and to enhance the atmosphere of the place.

  In response to such a request, when a plurality of lighting devices are newly installed on the site, it is necessary to individually set the lighting order of the light sources by each device. Further, when the arrangement state of each device is changed in order to change the lighting effect, it is necessary to reset the lighting order of the light source by each device accordingly. As described above, in order to individually set the lighting order of the light sources of the respective lighting devices, the following various proposals have been made in the prior art.

  That is, in the prior art described in Patent Document 1 below, a dedicated address setting device is provided, addresses are individually set for each lighting device from the address setting device, and the lighting devices are turned on in the set address order. I have to.

  Moreover, in the prior art described in Patent Document 2 below, paying attention to the point that the impedance changes depending on the length of the distance and the DC voltage drops according to the magnitude of the impedance, each lighting apparatus is connected via the communication line. Connect to each other and detect the magnitude of the reception voltage of the communication line at the communication terminal provided on each lighting fixture, and determine the number of the lighting fixture from the starting point based on the detected magnitude of the received voltage. The self-addresses are automatically set, and the lighting fixtures are turned on in the order of the set addresses.

In the prior art described in Patent Document 3 below, each lighting fixture is provided with a position detection unit such as a GPS that detects the current position on the absolute coordinates, and the absolute position and address of each lighting fixture are collectively managed. Control devices are installed side by side. Then, a position information request signal is transmitted from the control device to each luminaire, and each luminaire detects the current position on the absolute coordinate by the position detection unit in response to this, and the detected current position information is transmitted to the control device. Reply to When the current position information returned and the position information registered in advance do not match, the control device determines that the lighting fixture has been moved and updates the location information of each lighting fixture. The addresses of the respective lighting fixtures are reset based on the updated position information, and the lighting fixtures are turned on in the order of the reset addresses.
JP 2006-93098 A JP 2007-123045 A JP 2005-251443 A

  However, in the prior art described in Patent Document 1, in order to send and turn on each lighting device in a certain order, an address is individually set for each lighting device in advance using a dedicated address setting device. Since the operation is necessary, not only does the setting operation take time and effort, but also an error is likely to occur in the address setting, and a problem that the lighting apparatus does not light up in a desired order is likely to occur.

  In the prior art described in Patent Document 2, since the address of each lighting fixture is automatically assigned, it is possible to save the trouble of address setting, but each reception is performed by the communication terminal unit provided in each lighting fixture. In order to detect the magnitude of the voltage, it is necessary to connect the lighting fixtures to each other with a wired communication line. Therefore, when installing a plurality of lighting fixtures in stores, halls, etc., cables must be routed. For this reason, wiring takes time and effort. It is easy to cause troubles such as cutting.

  Further, in the prior art described in Patent Document 3, since the address for determining the lighting order is automatically assigned in consideration of the positional relationship of each lighting fixture, it is possible to save the trouble of address setting, and between the lighting fixtures. Are connected to each other wirelessly to control lighting, which saves the trouble of wiring the communication line, but in order to set the address in consideration of the mutual positional relationship of each lighting fixture, It is necessary to provide a position detection unit such as a GPS for detecting the current position of each of them, and it is necessary to provide a control device for managing the current position and address of each luminaire together. For this reason, the whole system becomes expensive.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and even when the arrangement of devices having a light source for illumination is changed, the lighting order is automatically considered in consideration of the positional relationship of each device. The light sources included in each device can always be sent and lit in a certain order, and an expensive position detection unit such as a GPS for detecting the position on absolute coordinates as in the prior art is not provided. Another object of the present invention is to provide an illumination control system that can be realized at a relatively low cost.

In order to achieve the above object, an illumination control system according to claim 1 controls a plurality of devices having a light source for illumination to operate in cooperation with each other. A transmission / reception means for performing wireless communication between each other, a measurement means for measuring at least one of a signal level and a communication response time at the time of mutual communication after installation of each device, and measurement data by the measurement means are held. A data holding means, and one of the devices is collected by the collecting means for collecting measurement data held by the data holding means of each device including itself, and collected by the collecting means. Order setting means for setting the order of the distance between the devices based on the magnitude relationship of the measured data, and each device follows the order set by the order setting means. It is characterized in that the lighting control of the light source Te.

The illumination control system according to a first aspect of the present invention, in the above configuration of the invention, the ranking setting means, having a small said signal level, or so that the longer the larger the evaluation points of the communication response time Give each device a separate evaluation score, then add each device's evaluation score for other devices, and set the device with the highest sum as the highest rank in the order. Thus, by sequentially repeating the operation of setting the device with the smallest evaluation score as the next order, the order of each device is set sequentially from the top to the bottom.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the lighting control system according to the first aspect of the invention, wherein the order setting means includes a plurality of items in the next order in the order setting after setting the highest level device. If there are candidates, excluding the devices that have already been ordered, the evaluation score for other devices is added to each candidate device, and the larger sum is set as the next ranking. It is characterized by.

According to the lighting control system of claim 1 Symbol placement of invention, since the turn-on order is automatically allocated in consideration of the positional relationship of the device for each lighting, always feed according to a predetermined order a light source provided in each device Can be lit. For this reason, the effort and time for setting the lighting order of each apparatus can be saved. In addition, since the order of the distances between the devices is set by wireless mutual communication, there is no need for wiring of communication cables. Furthermore, since the lighting order is automatically set without providing an expensive position detection unit such as a GPS for detecting the position on the current absolute coordinate as in the prior art, it can be realized relatively inexpensively. .

Further, according to the lighting control system of the invention described in claim 1, it is not necessary to strictly measure the position of the absolute coordinates of a device for illumination of the current each magnitude of the measurement data such as signal level and the communication response time Since the order of relative distances between the devices is set based on the relationship, the order can be set easily and accurately.

According to the lighting control system of the second aspect of the present invention, even when there are a plurality of candidate devices, it is possible to select one device without difficulty, so that each device is arranged in a distributed manner rather than in a single row. Even if you are, you can set the order without difficulty.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows each lighting device constituting the lighting control system according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 (a) is a block diagram showing the configuration of the lighting device serving as a master unit. b) is a block diagram showing a configuration of an illumination device serving as a slave unit.

  The lighting control system of this embodiment includes a plurality of lighting devices A to D. Among these devices A to D, one device A is a parent device, and the other devices B to D are child devices. It is configured as. In this example, three child devices B, C, and D exist for one parent device A, but the number of child devices is not limited to this.

  Here, each of the devices A to D of the main unit and the sub unit includes a load 1 composed of a light source such as an illumination lamp, a controller 2 composed of a microcomputer, etc., and an illumination for controlling the load 1 by the control of the controller 1. The control unit 3 includes a transmission unit 4 and a reception unit 5 as transmission / reception means for performing wireless communication between devices, and a memory 6 for storing predetermined data and programs. Note that the load 1 is not limited to a light source such as an illumination lamp, but may include a speaker that emits sound. Further, the wireless communication is not limited to radio waves, and communication means such as infrared rays and ultrasonic waves can also be applied.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 1A, a measuring unit 21, an order setting unit 22, and an operation control unit 23 are configured in the controller 2 of the parent device A by installing a predetermined control program. . In addition, as shown in FIG. 1B, a measuring unit 21 and an operation control unit 23 are configured in the controller 2 of the slave units B to D by installing a predetermined control program. The order setting unit 22 as in the machine A is not provided.

  Here, the measurement unit 21 is configured to receive a signal level (for example, an analog voltage level) of a reception signal obtained by the reception unit 5 at the time of mutual communication after installation of each of the devices A to D and a communication response time with other devices. Is to measure. The memory 6 corresponds to the data holding means in the claims. Furthermore, the operation control unit 23 of the controller 2 controls the overall operation of the device.

  Moreover, in the main | base station A, in addition to controlling the whole operation | movement of the said apparatus A, the operation control part 23 of said controller 2 is measurement data hold | maintained at the memory 6 of each apparatus AD including self. It corresponds to the collecting means in the claims. The order setting unit 22 sets the order of the distances between the devices A to D based on the measurement data collected by the operation control unit 23. The order setting unit 22 includes: It corresponds. Further, the transmission unit 4 serves to notify all devices of the order of the devices A to D set by the order setting unit 22.

  Next, specific actions and operations of each part constituting each of the devices A to D will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. In the following, when there is no particular distinction between the parent device and the child device, they are simply referred to as devices. Further, in order to facilitate understanding of the invention, it is assumed in this example that there are three slave units B, C, and D for one master unit A.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 2, the memory 6 of each device A to D includes the number of each device A to D in the system including its own and a unique number assigned to each device A to D. Identification IDs (IDa to IDd) are registered. In the initial stage before installation of each device, data such as signal level, communication response time, and rank in FIG. 2 are not registered.

  When each device A to D is newly installed on the site, or when the arrangement state of each device A to D is changed to change the lighting effect, for example, the remote controller or the like outside the figure is used to change to the master unit A. In response to this, a test start command is transmitted.

  In response to the test start command, the parent device A first performs test communication with each of the child devices B to D as shown in FIG. That is, a test communication request signal in which IDs are sequentially specified is output, and in response to this, each test response signal transmitted from the slave devices B to D having the matching ID is received. At that time, the measuring unit 21 measures the signal levels Ib, Ic, Id (for example, analog voltage levels) of the test response signals from the respective slave units B to D obtained by the receiving unit 5 and transmits a test communication request signal. Communication response times Tb, Tc, and Td required from the time point until receiving the test response signals from the respective slave units B to D are measured. Then, as shown in FIG. 2, the measurement data of the signal levels Ib, Ic, Id and communication response times Tb, Tc, Td obtained by the measurement unit 21 are registered in the memory 6.

  Subsequently, as shown in FIGS. 3B to 3D, the master unit A sequentially designates IDs and sequentially outputs test start request signals to the slave units B to D, as shown in FIGS. In the same way as in the case of FIG. 3A, the slave unit whose ID matches in response to the test start request signal performs test communication with the master unit and each other slave unit.

  For example, paying attention to the slave unit B, the slave unit B sequentially outputs a test communication request signal designating IDs to the master unit A and the other slave units C and D, and in accordance with this, the master unit having the matched ID A test response signal transmitted from A and the other slave units C and D is received. At that time, the measuring unit 21 measures the signal levels Ia, Ic, Id of the test response signals from the parent device A and each of the child devices C, D obtained by the receiving unit, and from the transmission time point of the test communication request signal. Communication response times Ta, Tc, and Td required for receiving the test response signals output from the machine A and the other slaves C and D are measured. Then, the measurement data of the signal levels Ia, Ic, Id and the communication response times Ta, Tc, Td obtained by the measurement unit 21 are registered in the memory 6. As for the other slave units C and D, as shown in FIGS. 3C and 3D, the signal level and the communication response time are similarly measured, and each measurement data is registered in the memory 6.

  In this way, when all the devices A to D measure the signal level and communication response time between the devices other than themselves and register the data in the memory 6, next, As shown in FIG. 4, the base unit A sequentially specifies IDs and outputs measurement data collection request signals to the handset B to D. In response to the measurement data collection request signal, each of the slave devices BD having the same ID reads each measurement data of the signal level and communication response time between the other devices registered in its own memory 6. To base unit A.

  When the above-described measurement data transmitted from each of the slave devices B to D is received by the receiving unit 5, the operation control unit 23 aggregates these measurement data and temporarily registers them in the memory 6. . Next, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the order setting unit 22 sets the order of the distances between the devices A to D based on the measurement data that is aggregated and registered in the memory 6.

  That is, since the devices A to D measure the signal level and the communication response time by mutual communication, the measurement data are duplicated. For example, since the parent device A and the child device B measure the signal level and the communication response time twice, the order setting unit 22 first obtains an average value of each to eliminate measurement variations. .

  Next, the order setting unit 22 individually assigns an evaluation score to each of the devices A to D so that the smaller the signal level after averaging or the longer the communication response time, the higher the evaluation score.

  For example, the first and second threshold values Ish1 and Ish2 (where Ish1 <Ish2) are provided for the signal level. If the signal level is smaller than the first threshold value Ish1, the evaluation score is “3” and the signal level is The evaluation score is “2” when it is between the first threshold value Ish1 and the second threshold value Ish2, and the evaluation score is “1” when the signal level is higher than the second threshold value Ish2. Accordingly, the larger the evaluation score, the longer the distance between the devices A to D.

  Thereby, when the arrangement state of each device A to D is as shown in FIG. 3, as shown in FIG. 6, for example, with respect to the parent device A, the child device B has an evaluation score of “1” and the child device C has an evaluation score. The score “2” and the slave device D are assigned the evaluation score “3”, respectively. Further, with respect to the child device B, the evaluation score “1” is assigned to the parent device A, the evaluation score “1” is assigned to the child device C, and the evaluation score “2” is assigned to the child device D.

  In this manner, when the order setting unit 22 assigns the evaluation scores for each of the devices A to D in a stepwise manner, next, for each of the devices A to D, the evaluation score for other devices is added and the sum is obtained. Ask.

  For example, in the case of the example shown in FIG. 6, for the parent device A, the sum of the evaluation scores for the other child devices B, C, and D is 1 + 2 + 3 = “6”. For the slave unit B, the sum of the evaluation scores regarding the master unit A and the slave units C and D is 1 + 1 + 2 = “4”. Similarly, for child device C, the sum of evaluation points for parent device A and child devices B and D is “4”, and for child device D, the sum of evaluation points for parent device A and child devices B and C is “6”. It becomes.

  Subsequently, the order setting unit 22 sets one of the devices having the maximum evaluation score as the highest (first) order. At that time, if there are multiple candidates, it is necessary to select one of them, but as a selection method there is a certain rule (for example, the one closest to the parent machine is given the highest priority). It may be provided or selected randomly. The same applies to the case where there are a plurality of candidates for the second and subsequent devices. In the case of this example, the sum of the evaluation scores is “6” at the maximum, since there are two of the parent device A and the child device D. Here, the parent device A is prioritized and this is the highest rank (first) Choose as.

  Subsequently, the rank setting unit 22 sets another device having the smallest evaluation score as the next second rank with respect to the highest-level device (here, the parent device A). Then, another device having the smallest evaluation score is set as the third order for the device set as the second order. By repeating this operation sequentially, the rank of each device is sequentially determined from the upper level to the lower level.

For example, in the example shown in FIG. 6, since it is the slave unit B that has the smallest evaluation score “1” with respect to the first master unit A in the order, this slave unit B is selected and this is selected as the rank 2 The second. Next, another device having the smallest evaluation score is similarly selected for this handset B. In this case, there are two devices, the parent device A and the child device C, having the smallest evaluation score “1”, but since the parent device A has already been ordered, the child device C is the third in the order. . Next, another device having the smallest evaluation score is similarly selected for this child device C. In this case, the devices having the smallest evaluation score “1” are the child device B and the child device D, but since the child device B has already been ordered, the last remaining child device D is the fourth in the order. And Therefore, finally, as shown in FIG. 6, the order is set in the order of A → B → C → D.
In the above description, an evaluation score is assigned to each device based on the level of the signal level. However, an evaluation score may be assigned according to the length of the communication response time. It is also possible to attach the evaluation score by a fixed function formula in consideration of both.
When the rank setting unit 22 determines the rank order of all the devices in this way, the master unit A registers the rank information in its own memory 6 and, as shown in FIG. The sequential information is transmitted to each of the slave devices B to D by sequentially specifying the ID. Each of the slave devices B to D that received the order information registers the order information in its own memory 6 in association with the ID of each device. Thereby, all the apparatuses A to D can grasp the order information.

  In this state, when the devices A to D are operated in a linked manner and are lit up, for example, a lit-up start command is transmitted to the base unit A from a remote controller (not shown). In response to this, for example, as shown in FIG. 8A, the base unit A refers to the order registered in the memory 6 and first controls its own load (light source) 1 having the highest order. Next, after a predetermined waiting time elapses, the transmitter 4 outputs a lighting trigger signal designating an ID for the second handset B having the next rank. In response to reception of this lighting trigger signal, the slave unit B controls its own load (light source) 1 to turn on the light, and then, after a predetermined waiting time has elapsed, the rank registered in the memory 6 is displayed. With reference to the next order, the lighting trigger signal designating the ID for the third handset C is output from the transmitter 4. Thereafter, the slave units C and D are turned on in the same procedure. Thereby, according to the order set in the order setting part 22, each apparatus AD is sent and lit.

  As shown in FIG. 8 (a), instead of sequentially transmitting a lighting trigger signal from one device to the next-order device and sequentially transmitting and lighting each device A to D, for example, FIG. 8 (b) As shown in the figure, the main unit A is the main body, and a lighting trigger signal designating an ID according to the order is sequentially transmitted to each of the slave units B, C, and D every time a waiting time corresponding to the order elapses. Thus, the lighting devices of the devices A to D can be sent and lit.

  In the above embodiment, when the second and subsequent ranks are set in the rank setting unit 22 after the highest (first) device is set, As a method for selecting one of the above, a method of selecting at random or a method of determining a rule that gives priority to the one closest to the parent machine has been described. Except for the candidate device, it is possible to select one device by providing a rule that the evaluation score related to the other device corresponding to this is added and the larger sum is set as the next order. Good.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 9A, in the state where the parent device A and each of the child devices B to E are arranged in a distributed manner, the rank setting unit 22 individually evaluates each device A to E. It is assumed that the result as shown in FIG. 10 is obtained when points are given. At this time, for each of the devices A to E, when the sum of the evaluation scores for the other devices is obtained, the sum of the evaluation scores for the parent device A is “7”, and the sum of the evaluation scores for the child device B is “4”. The sum of the evaluation points for the child device C is “8”, the sum of the evaluation points for the child device D is “7”, and the sum of the evaluation points for the child device D is “8”.

  When searching for the device having the highest sum of evaluation scores as the first rank device, there are two cases where the sum of the evaluation scores is “8” at the maximum, that is, the slave unit C and the slave unit E. In the same way as in the case described with reference to FIG. 6, one of the child devices C is randomly set as the highest (first) in the order.

Thus, when the first slave unit C is set, the device having the smallest evaluation score is set as the next rank for this slave unit C. In this case, for the slave unit C, There are two candidates of the parent device A and the child device B having the smallest evaluation score “1”. In this case, except for the devices that have already been ordered (the child device C in this example), for each of the candidate devices A and B, the evaluation score for other devices is added, and the one with the larger sum is the next. Set as the order of. That is, for the main unit A, the sum of the evaluation scores for the other devices B, D, and E excluding the devices A and C is 1 + 2 + 3 = “6”, and for the sub unit B, the other devices excluding the devices B and C The sum of the evaluation scores for A, D, and E is 1 + 1 + 1 = “3”. Therefore, the base unit A having a large sum of evaluation scores is set as the second in the order.

  For the second rank base unit A set in this way, the device having the smallest evaluation score is set as the next third rank. In this case, the device having the smallest evaluation score “1” is set. There are two slaves B and C. However, since the handset C has already been determined as the first rank, the handset B is set as the third rank. This is the same as the procedure described in FIG. Therefore, finally, as shown in FIG. 9B, the order is set in the order of C → A → B → D → E, and each device is sent and lit.

  In this way, in the case of determining the second and subsequent ranks, if there are a plurality of candidate devices, evaluation of other candidate devices with respect to each candidate device except for devices that have already been ordered. If the score is added and the larger sum is set as the next order, even if there are a plurality of candidate devices, one device can be selected without difficulty. For this reason, it is convenient because the order of each device can be accurately set even when the devices for lighting are arranged in a distributed manner instead of one row.

FIG. 2 shows each lighting device constituting the lighting control system in the embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. (A) is a block diagram showing a configuration of a device serving as a parent device, and (b) in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the apparatus which becomes. It is explanatory drawing of the data content registered into the memory of each apparatus. It is explanatory drawing at the time of the communication state confirmation operation | movement of the same system. It is explanatory drawing at the time of measurement data collection operation | movement of the same system. It is explanatory drawing at the time of the order setting operation | movement of the same system. It is explanatory drawing which shows the specific example of the order setting operation | movement by the order setting part in the arrangement | positioning state of each apparatus shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing at the time of the order information transmission operation | movement of the same system. It is explanatory drawing at the time of the illumination control operation | movement of the system. It is explanatory drawing of the arrangement | positioning state of the apparatus of the system, and the feed lighting operation accompanying this. It is explanatory drawing which shows the specific example of the order setting operation | movement by the order setting part in the arrangement | positioning state of each apparatus shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

1 Load (light source)
2 Controller 21 Measuring unit (measuring means)
22 Order setting section (order setting section means)
23 Operation control unit (collection means)
4 Transmitter (notification means)
5 Receiving part 6 Memory (Data holding means)

Claims (2)

A system for controlling a plurality of devices having a light source for illumination to cooperate with each other,
Each device includes a transmission / reception unit that performs wireless communication between each device, a measurement unit that measures at least one of a signal level and a communication response time at the time of mutual communication after the installation of each device, and a measurement by the measurement unit Data holding means for holding data,
In addition, one of the devices includes a collection unit that collects measurement data held by each data holding unit of each device including itself and a magnitude relationship between the measurement data collected by the collection unit. An order setting means for setting an order of the distance between the devices based on
Wherein each device state, and are not lit controlling the light source in accordance with ranking set by the ranking setting means,
The order setting means assigns an evaluation score to each device individually so that the smaller the signal level or the longer the communication response time, the higher the evaluation score, and then each device evaluates the other devices. By adding the points, setting the device with the largest sum as the highest rank in the order, and sequentially setting the device with the lowest evaluation score as the next rank for the highest rank device, An illumination control system characterized in that the order of devices is sequentially set from upper to lower.
In the order setting after the highest-level device is set, if there are a plurality of candidates in the next order, the order setting means, except for the device for which the order is already set, lighting control system of claim 1, wherein the evaluation scores by adding about equipment, and characterized in that for setting whichever the sum is greater as the next ranking.

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